Ajahn Chah via Ven. Sujato, Ellie Askew, Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly; John Lennon
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The calmness competition? "OH YEAH! First to reach enlightenment... Right here, people! WOOOO BABY! Eat my dust, ladies!" (Phil./"The Rut." 2009/bigeyedeer.wordpress.com)
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Happiness is desired and wished for by people in the world. Suffering (disappointment) is undesirable and unwished for. Nirvana is beyond wishing and unwishing. Do you understand?
There is no wishing involved [once] in nirvana. Wanting to get happiness, wanting to be free of suffering, wanting to transcend happiness and suffering -- there are none of these things. Nirvana is peace [cooling, quenching, calming].
As I see it, realizing the [liberating ultimate] truth does not happen by relying on others. We should understand that all doubts will be resolved only by our own efforts, by continuous, energetic practice.
We won’t get free of doubt by asking others. We will only end doubt through our own unrelenting efforts.
Remember this. It’s an important principle in practice. The actual doing is what will instruct you. You will come to know all right and wrong.
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| Desiring and wishing won't help, even for... |
But we can’t stick with it. We can’t bear the difficulties we meet. We find it hard to face up to our suffering without running away from it. If we do face it and bear with it, then we gain knowledge, and the practice starts instructing us automatically, teaching us about right and wrong and the way things really are.
Our practice will show us the faults and woeful results of wrong thinking. It really happens like this. But it’s hard to find people who can see it through.
Everyone wants instant awakening. Rushing here and there following your impulses, you only end up worse off for it. Be careful about this. [Look down at your running shoes, and just do it, but very be careful not to fall into this common trap of wishing for and demanding instant results.]
John Lennon and Yoko Ono "Instant Karma" (We All Shine On)
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